Chapter 18
“Before we begin,” Velario said, his gaze drawn to her hands. The white knuckles shouted out her nervousness. “I want to clarify a few things.”
“Of course.” She finally looked at him. “What do you want to know?”
“The purpose of this evening is to test if your lure is present during sex, correct?” Velario wondered at the oddity of the conversation. Such dispassionate talk about what should be a passionate subject. But that was what Reyn said she wanted.
“Correct.”
“And we are to determine the lure, or lack thereof, how? I cannot sense a succubus’s lure, and my understanding is that even if you direct one at me, I will believe that those emotions are natural.”
“You don’t have to sense anything. The proof will be in your reactions.”
“Because you think your lure causes your partners to come early.”
“Exactly.”
“Reyn, are you saying that your partners have always come before you? And they just left you unsatisfied?”
Her nose wrinkled. “Yes.”
Velario suppressed a groan. What kind of idiot had Reyn in his bed and did not do his damnedest to make sure she would want to come back? Lure or no lure, there was no excuse for such boorish behavior. Whether or not Reyn wanted this evening to be a dispassionate experiment, Velario had no intention of making such a poor showing. He couldn’t plan on having her welcome him in her bed—or having her visit his—again, not when she had made her expectations clear. But he’d go to the five hells and back before he gave up on earning another invitation.
“Well, that will not be happening tonight.”
Reyn frowned at his pronouncement. “I shouldn’t have told you so much. Now that you know, it won’t be a valid experiment.”
“It will be fine. If your lure is so overpowering, we’ll find out. But I’m still going to ensure that I do not leave you unsatisfied. In fact, I will take care of that first.”
Reyn’s brow wrinkled. “But how . . . ?”
Velario did groan this time. “I forgot you are Moialan.”
“I’m not some innocent.”
“No. And you don’t act the blushing maiden, which is why I forgot you are Moialan. But you are. And as a Moialan lady, I bet you never learned more than the basics of bedding someone. Your upbringing would have seen to that, and I bet you have everyone outside of Moial so convinced that you are worldly that it never occurred to them to explain, either.”
“So, are you going to explain, or continue insulting me?”
“I don’t mean it as an insult, Reyn. Just a statement of fact.”
“Why don’t you get on with the explanation?”
Velario stepped closer to her. He lowered his voice. “It’ll be easier to show. I just have one question first: hands or mouth?”
Reyn’s eyes locked on his lips with gratifying rapidity.
“Mouth?” she said, with a hint of question in her voice.
“Excellent choice.” Velario closed the remaining distance between their bodies, but he didn’t lean down to kiss Reyn. Instead, he surprised her by sweeping her into his arms, turning, and crossing to the bed. Beyond her initial squeak of surprise, she said nothing.
Velario placed her on top of the bedcovers and gripped her ankles. He watched her closely as his hands slid up and loosened the laces on her boots. She propped herself up on her elbows and watched him with confusion writ across her face.
He dropped her boots to the floor. By the time he rolled her stockings down and let them fall as well, a haze of desire had replaced the confusion. Velario continued to stroke his way up her legs until he reached her drawers. Once they were off, he slid her skirts up to her waist. For every inch of skin he revealed, he caressed five more, letting his fingers drift up and down Reyn’s legs.
He kept his eyes locked on Reyn’s until her skirts were crumpled at her waist. If he looked down, her entire lower half would be bared to him. His fingers drifted along the final few inches, dragging along the creases at the tops of her thighs.
Reyn moaned, and Velario lost all patience. “I believe you requested mouth, not hands.”
